Super Shane hoping to turn enforced break to his advantage

SHANE WILLIAMS’ exploits for Wales down the years may have bordered on the super-human at times, but facing England in a white-hot Six Nations match after just 20 minutes of action in two-and-a-half months is asking a lot even by his standards.

SHANE WILLIAMS’ exploits for Wales down the years may have bordered on the super-human at times, but facing England in a white-hot Six Nations match after just 20 minutes of action in two-and-a-half months is asking a lot even by his standards.

So to the obvious question: can the former world player of the year possibly be ready for the mother of all Six Nations clashes at the Millennium Stadium on Friday week?

“Before the injury I was as quick as I’ve ever been, but even now I feel very sharp, my training has gone well and I don’t think I’m far off that standard,” said the Lions wing, reflecting on his absence after dislocating a shoulder against South Africa in November.

He went on: “I’m happy, I’m confident and I suppose all I need now is that bit of match fitness.

“I don’t know how I’ll get that in the next week!

“But all I can say is the time I had on the pitch for the Ospreys against Toulon was certainly a big help.

“More so now than ever I need to make sure I’m as quick as I possibly can be, but I’m still doing personal bests in the gym and I’m still keeping up with these young guys coming through.

“With me it’s psychological as well, I need to feel good and set my own high personal standards.

“I’ve worked hard to get to this position and I’m determined now to have a good Six Nations.”

It’s 11 years since Williams made his Wales debut, coming on as a second-half replacement during a 30-point Cardiff hiding against France in the opening match of the 2000 Six Nations, his first contribution being to gift a pass to Emile N’Tamack that resulted in another Les Bleus try.

Since then, there’s not much the little wizard hasn’t seen, and he’s faced the best the world game has been able to throw at him.

Though his next opponent, rising England star Chris Ashton, will pose a challenge all of his own.

And it could be a fairly evenly-matched personal battle, given that the pair share the same sprinting coach, a Dutch professor of biomechanics who has been drafted in to work with the Wales squad this week.

Williams explained: “Ashton is a good player and the work he has done with the sprint coach, Frans Bosch, has paid dividends because he’s had a great season.

“He’s played well in a good Northampton side and scored some great tries in the autumn series.

“He showed a great turn of pace for his score against Australia when he went the length of the field. He showed some gas there.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on him.

“But they have other good backs like in Foden and Marc Cueto.

“Frans is good to work with though, he’s with us at the moment and he makes sure you get the little things right.”

Williams is realistic enough to know that his time out injured will mean he is, to a degree, undercooked going into the England encounters.

But with his 34th birthday approaching, there is certainly no concern that he is losing any of his zest for the game.

“Not playing over Christmas means that I’ve missed a lot but mentally I do feel fresh,” he stressed. I was absolutely champing at the bit to get on against Toulon. At one stage I thought I was going on just after half-time when Richard Fussell got a knock and I was jumping around like a 10-year-old.

“But when I got on for 20 minutes I really enjoyed myself.

“I am lucky in that I’m back three weeks ahead of schedule and have had 20 minutes under my belt which I enjoyed.

“It was a nasty injury and I don’t want it to recur.

“But I’m here and it’s probably by the skin of my teeth.

“I’ve done plenty of contact work with Filo Tiatia and if you can tackle him you can tackle anyone! So that’s given me confidence.

“I have a bit of work to do still though, this is a massive game for us.”

However his preparation has gone, Williams will, as ever, be expected to spearhead Welsh attacking ambition the moment he crosses the whitewash.

So does he feel the weight of a nation on his shoulders? Does he see himself as the talisman?

His response is philosophical.

“I have had that sort of tag on me for a while but you tend to learn to handle the pressure, even if it took me quite a while when I first arrived on the scene,” he said.

“In a way it’s nice to have that mantle on your head.

“I feel no different now to when I first started, but the pressure subsides the more experience you have.

“The Six Nations to me is the best tournament you can play in.

“The atmosphere in the grounds doesn’t compare and all the players just love the home games.

“There’s a love-hate relationship between us and the fans at times, but that’s part of it here in Wales.

“That first game is all-important, we’ve shown in the past what a good win against England can lead to.

“I’m probably a bit of a different winger, I like to get involved as much as I can and if that makes me a talisman in as much as I create chances for the other guys then great.

“But it is more than just one man that will have to play well to beat England.”

While Wales have bemoaned their injury count, England can hardly boast a clean bill of health either, with key men Lewis Moody, Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft all missing.

Williams said: “England have had their fair share of injuries which means we can’t harp on too much about losing players.

“But losing Adam Jones, one of the form tightheads in the world, and Gethin Jenkins, a huge part of the squad who works harder than anyone else, is massive for us.

“But there are people like Tom Shanklin, George North and others who will also be missed.

“Yet we have a good squad and it is a physical game. You are always going to lose players and you can’t really ever expect to go into a tournament at full strength.”